◦ A sudden global "red fog disaster" unleashes viruses and mutated creatures, and civilization collapses. Lin Chen, an ordinary college student and office worker, witnesses his friends and family die horribly. Alone and on the run, he hides in an abandoned city, surviving through cleverness and sheer ruthlessness while witnessing both humanity's ugliness, in the form of looting and betrayal, and its faint glimmers of light, as strangers briefly help one another.
◦ Key event: Cornered by mutated dogs, he awakens the "Devouring Evolution" ability on the brink of death. It lets him absorb the energy of mutated creatures and ability users to evolve, though at first he can absorb only tiny amounts and suffers side effects. He turns the tables on his enemies and obtains his first batch of "evolution resources."
